Views – iamthewitchhttp://iamthewitch.com
Food & Travel EscapadesWed, 23 Nov 2016 01:06:56 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.137831926BIG Discounts from Online Shoppinghttp://iamthewitch.com/2011/05/24/hishopmy-malaysias-exclusive-online-shopping-club-2/
http://iamthewitch.com/2011/05/24/hishopmy-malaysias-exclusive-online-shopping-club-2/#commentsTue, 24 May 2011 01:30:10 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=4302It goes without saying that online shopping has now played an important part in our daily life. It is even more prevalent now with the mushrooming of group-buying sites that are offering products and services at only a fraction of the original price. In the midst of this all, the HiShop.my was born, Malaysia’s premier...

]]>It goes without saying that online shopping has now played an important part in our daily life. It is even more prevalent now with the mushrooming of group-buying sites that are offering products and services at only a fraction of the original price. In the midst of this all, the HiShop.my was born, Malaysia’s premier members-only online shopping club. What differentiates HiShop.my from the rest is that only members are granted access to their private online sales, offering up to 80% discount. Besides, all the items on sale are either branded goods or carefully picked limited edition items with a 100% authenticity guarantee. This allows average people like most of us to afford branded goods without burning a hole in our pockets!

HiShop.my member page

Feeling curious, I went to their website to have a look and found out that there was nothing much I could see until I registered as a member. Fret not, registration was easy and instant, and before long, I landed on the page of ‘Current Sales’ showing a list of brands on sale.

Current Sales page

The pages were easy to navigate and user-friendly, and I found myself getting familiarized with the layout in no time. Special attention was paid to the CK bags sale since my own handbag was stolen in a recent house break in. I was glad to find that most of the items on sale were greatly discounted! It was a shopping haven for shopaholics indeed.

Discounted CK Bags

Shopping can now be hassle-free and stress-free, without costing a fortune. Check out the video below to have a better idea on what HiShop.my is all about!

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2011/05/24/hishopmy-malaysias-exclusive-online-shopping-club-2/feed/64302RM203,000 Cash Giveawayhttp://iamthewitch.com/2011/04/14/203k-campaign-webuy/
http://iamthewitch.com/2011/04/14/203k-campaign-webuy/#commentsThu, 14 Apr 2011 03:56:19 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=4087Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about Another Group-buying site known as WeBUY? The good news is, they are now coming out with bigger and bolder campaigns, with the star being the RM203k Community Giveaway Project! In this project, everyone is a winner! One just needs to sign up with WeBUY and click...

]]>Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about Another Group-buying site known as WeBUY? The good news is, they are now coming out with bigger and bolder campaigns, with the star being the RM203k Community Giveaway Project! In this project, everyone is a winner! One just needs to sign up with WeBUY and click on BUY for the deal below to be credited with e-wallet cash at the end of the campaign. The more people buy this deal, the higher the amount of cash you will get!

203k WeBUY Communicty Giveaway Project

To have a clearer picture, the picture below shows the different tiers that this BUY has. When there are 500 persons buying this deal (which costs RM0, by the way), each of them will get RM3 credited to their account. When the number of persons buying this deal reaches 1500, each of them will get RM5. The same continues until this BUY reaches 10,000 people, when each of them will get RM20 credited to their account! This e-wallet money can be used to purchase any WeBUY deals just like real cash.

Different tiers of giveaway

And the best part is, once the BUY reaches 10,000 buyers, it will be open to a lucky draw where 10 persons will get to win RM300 extra on top of the RM20, making it a total of RM320 each.

It’s so easy to purchase this deal. Just sign up with WeBUY and like their Facebook page, and click on the BUY icon for the deal above. You really have got nothing to lose. I have done the same too!

My coupon for the RM203k giveaway deal

To get an idea of what can be used with the money from the giveaway, here are some of the on-going deals at WeBUY. There is Tea Republic promotion where one just needs to pay RM11 for a set of high tea worth RM28.

Tea Republic promotion

There’s also another promotion from Shawn Cutler, RM80 for RM250 worth of hair services. Such a huge discount!

Shawn Cutler promotion

The WeBUY RM203k Community Giveaway has only 1,000+ buyers so far. Let’s try to make it 10,000 so that we’ll all get RM20 each, shall we? Quick, before it’s too late!

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2011/04/14/203k-campaign-webuy/feed/64087Another Group Buying Site?http://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/31/group-buying-site/
http://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/31/group-buying-site/#commentsThu, 31 Mar 2011 02:00:05 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=3709Online group purchase must be a lucrative business for just after a few months of launching this concept, so many new sites have mushroomed, all offering products or services at a slashed price, that is, when a certain number of buyers is achieved. I have to admit, this is no longer a new concept, so...

]]>Online group purchase must be a lucrative business for just after a few months of launching this concept, so many new sites have mushroomed, all offering products or services at a slashed price, that is, when a certain number of buyers is achieved. I have to admit, this is no longer a new concept, so when I came across WeBUY.com.my, I told myself that this is yet another one of those collective purchase websites. But wait a minute, let’s not judge a book by its cover, shall we?

Some of the past deals missed – 32 Bistro, Kissaten, Zen’th Spa, etc

The site will feature new deals every 3 days (maximum) with discounts of 50% – 90%. The deal will only be “ON”/ ”Activated” if there are enough buyers. If the minimum number of buyers is not met, the deal is off and no one will get charged. Simple as that.

What makes WeBUY different from the rest?

Apparently, they are very selective in their deals. Instead of focusing on only the pricing, WeBUY looks at the quality of the merchants. The focus is on the customer’s experience so the deals chosen would be those that would give customers, for example, a good dining experience, a nice spa experience and so on. Also, the site is not cluttered with deals. Every day, only one main deal will be displayed so as to avoid confusion.

Sneak peeks

Upon navigating the site, another idea that I like about WeBUY is how we, as customers, can suggest a business for them to approach or strike a deal with. If you enjoy dining at a particular restaurant, why not suggest it to WeBUY so that you can dine there at a much lower price? Nothing to lose!

From the looks of it, WeBUY seems to be a promising venture, especially if they stick to their concept of offering only good quality deals at a low price. In fact, I have purchased a deal from them for Kissaten (RM25 for RM50 worth of cash voucher). Oh yes, Kissaten = delicious pork burger.

Currently, the main deal is theGucci Borsa Giffordworth RM 1985 and you pay RM 0! So do not forget to click on BUY to activate the Gucci deal.

If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can also sign up for their daily email updates, where deals will be emailed to you whenever there’s a new deal. No one misses out! Here’s hoping to greater deals for food from WeBUY!

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/31/group-buying-site/feed/83709Sushi for Charity – A Community Messagehttp://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/19/sushi-charity-community-message/
http://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/19/sushi-charity-community-message/#commentsSat, 19 Mar 2011 02:23:32 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=3843Every day, the news about Japan’s recent disaster is plastered all over the newspapers and media. There’s earthquake, there’s tsunami and there’s even nuclear leak. To say that it’s heartbreaking is merely putting it mildly, so why don’t we ask ourselves on how we can contribute? Sushi Tei, for example, has come up with a...

]]>Every day, the news about Japan’s recent disaster is plastered all over the newspapers and media. There’s earthquake, there’s tsunami and there’s even nuclear leak. To say that it’s heartbreaking is merely putting it mildly, so why don’t we ask ourselves on how we can contribute? Sushi Tei, for example, has come up with a brilliant plan on donating 50% of its sales proceeds (on 25th of March 2011) from all its outlets to support the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami. If you’re already planning to dine at Sushi Tei, hold on and wait until the 25th! You really have got nothing to lose while dining with a good cause.

50% of sales goes to Japan’s relief funds

Sushi Tei steps forward to help Japan’s disaster victims

Kuala Lumpur, 18 March 2011 – Sushi Tei Malaysia www.sushitei.com today announced that it will be doing its part for the Japanese community by raising funds for the tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan.

In a one- day event on Friday, 25th March 2011, fifty percent (50%) of all its sales proceeds from all its outlets will be channeled towards the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, which is associated with the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS). The money from this charity drive will be used to provide immediate relief efforts and support for victims of the recent disaster.

During this time of devastation Sushi Tei urges everyone to join them in doing what they can for the tsunami and earthquake victims. It encourages members of the public to support the campaign and help the people of Japan.

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2011/03/19/sushi-charity-community-message/feed/103843Happy Malaysia Day!http://iamthewitch.com/2010/09/16/happy-malaysia-day/
http://iamthewitch.com/2010/09/16/happy-malaysia-day/#commentsThu, 16 Sep 2010 01:35:16 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=2516Today marks the first time ever that 16th of September is recognized as a public holiday in Malaysia. Declared just last year, 16th of September is a public holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of Malaysia on 16th of September 1963. At that time, Malaysia consisted of the Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore....

]]>Today marks the first time ever that 16th of September is recognized as a public holiday in Malaysia. Declared just last year, 16th of September is a public holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of Malaysia on 16th of September 1963. At that time, Malaysia consisted of the Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. Of course, Singapore has since exited from Malaysia, so this day is really to celebrate the formation of Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak as one. In that case, can we say that Malaysia technically is not independent since 1957? Because in 1957, Malaysia did not even exist? Anyway, I support all reasons for a public holiday!

Happy Hari Malaysia! Happy Malaysia Day! How are you going to celebrate this new holiday?

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2010/09/16/happy-malaysia-day/feed/72516Singapore Food Blogger Demanding Free Mealhttp://iamthewitch.com/2010/08/24/singapore-food-blogger-demanding-free-meal/
http://iamthewitch.com/2010/08/24/singapore-food-blogger-demanding-free-meal/#commentsTue, 24 Aug 2010 02:12:48 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=2353Updates! Ladyironchef has come out with his side of the story. Check link at the end of the post. One thing though, why was his blog ‘suspended’ prior to this? And why was he ‘uncontactable’ before this? It just goes to make me wonder, is this a publicity gimmick? For those of you who are...

]]>Updates! Ladyironchef has come out with his side of the story. Check link at the end of the post. One thing though, why was his blog ‘suspended’ prior to this? And why was he ‘uncontactable’ before this? It just goes to make me wonder, is this a publicity gimmick?

For those of you who are still in the unknown, this news came up yesterday regarding a Singaporean food blogger who created havoc in the online community for what he did in an upscale restaurant in Singapore. The following article was copied from Yahoo Singapore Fit To Post website.

Food blogger who demands free meal sparks outrage online

A young food blogger who demanded that he and his three companions be given free meals at an upscale restaurant in the Joo Chiat area has sparked a huge furore online.

The group of four had walked into Private Affairs, a small but exclusive eatery in Joo Chiat, for its Sunday champagne brunch promotion that costs S$68++ per person.

The blogger in question, Brad Lau, who runs a food blog called ladyironchef, had informed the management on Friday that he would be coming down to review the Sunday Brunch promotion.

On the day itself, he and his partner came down at about 130pm, followed by his two other companions, each of whom came down half an hour apart.

According to Private Affairs’ operations director Ross Valentine, the four of them had brunch until 430pm, even when the restaurant’s official brunch hours was from 1130 am to 330pm. Brad and his partner also enjoyed two glasses of champagne each.

When presented with the final bill of $435, the blogger initially refused to pay and repeatedly told the restaurant’s chef, “I never pay for food in any restaurant.”

The restaurant eventually offered to waive off the cost of the meal for him and his partner as well as the cost of the champagne out of goodwill, thus lowering the bill to $159.

Still upset but finally relenting to pay, the blogger then threw his credit card onto the bar counter in front of the cashier before storming out.

The main entrance and cashier area of upscale eatery Private Affairs.

Valentine told Yahoo! Singapore, ”This blogger looked very aggressive and was quite arrogant. The fact that he also walked in with his friends at staggered timings created quite a bit of problems for my chef de cuisine, who has to prepare and present his food at just the right times.”

“We decided to waive off the meal and champagne cost for him and his partner out of goodwill. But when we asked him when the review of the meal would be coming out, he said he was not obliged to write anything if the food wasn’t good enough,” he added.

Yahoo! Singapore emailed Brad Lau for his reaction but he has yet to a reply.

The incident, however, has enraged the local food blogging community.

Glenn Lee, who runs popular food blog Hungryepicurean.com since late last year, posted an open letter criticising the blogger’s behaviour for “tarnishing the good name of the community.”

Lee, 22, told Yahoo! Singapore, “We are food bloggers and I’m pretty sure the intentions of all of us in the community is to share the love that we have for food and writing.”

“But what this certain blogger has done is highly detrimental to the integrity of the community as a whole and I felt the need to stand up for what I strongly believe in,” he said.

“I find it shameful. Demanding for free food on account of your supposed “status” as a person who blogs about food is not acceptable,” the 26-year-old said.

Renowned food expert KF Seetoh, who runs the popular makansutra.com, said the blogger in question lost his integrity by refusing to pay.

“The best position is to be invisible, pay for your own food. When you pay for your own food, you don’t take any prisoners when you write,” he said.

But what if the restaurant offers to give bloggers a free meal?

“Then I won’t write about your restaurant. Even if they offer me 50% off the total bill, and if I write about it, they will take my review with a 50% pinch of salt. Some of them, after eating, they call the chef out and ask him to change this and that on the menu. Some would then say, let me do a consultancy role for you. You do what I say and I write nice things.

“My stand is, be neutral. I pay, I say and then I rate,” he concluded.

**Since this post was first published at close to 130pm, Brad Lau’s blog, ladyironchef, has been suspended. Attempts to contact the blogger have still proven unsuccessful.

Food blog, ladyironchef, has temporarily been suspended.

I have to say that as a fellow blogger who also blogs about food, I’m somewhat disturbed with the actions of said blogger Brad (if it’s true). It’s bad enough that he demanded for free food when the restaurant was not offering it, but getting his friends along for a free ride? That’s just outright rude.

My take on this issue:

Food bloggers who pay a visit to a restaurant without invitation should pay for their own food. In fact, they should not make their identity known to get a fair and honest review of the restaurant just like any normal customers.

In the case of restaurants offering free food to bloggers, I believe that bloggers in question are actually doing their part in helping to promote the restaurants in getting recognition and potential customers. True enough, some people might question the credibility of the review if the food is free, but it really depends on the readers to believe the blogger or not. I mean, how many times can a blogger ‘lie’ to the readers? Once? Twice? If the readers find that they keep getting dishonest reviews from a certain blogger, I’m sure they would be smart enough to look for other source of information which are more accurate. So, really, it’s up to the readers to judge.

Last but not least, food bloggers are only human. As a human, if I receive a deed of goodwill from another party (in this case, a free meal), I would feel obliged to review the restaurant. But if the food was not up to par, I’d very much be willing to pay for my own food so that I can choose not to review a restaurant without feeling guilty. This way, the restaurant won’t think that I owe them something, and I won’t feel bad about not reviewing it.

Oh well, after all, one can still say that we’re only hearing one side of the story. Well, until this Brad fella comes out with his side of the story, I guess the community at large will just be enraged by his behaviour and arrogance.

*UPDATED: Ladyironchef has indeed come up with his side of the story here.

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2010/08/24/singapore-food-blogger-demanding-free-meal/feed/252353The Versatile Witchhttp://iamthewitch.com/2010/07/03/the-versatile-witch/
http://iamthewitch.com/2010/07/03/the-versatile-witch/#commentsSat, 03 Jul 2010 04:28:57 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=2069OK I’m sure by now most of you would know that I seldom do tags. In fact, I only remember doing one tag before in my blog. But, since Caroline has been so nice to me, I’m going to give her face and dedicate this tag to her. *LOL* She recently tagged me with this...

]]>OK I’m sure by now most of you would know that I seldom do tags. In fact, I only remember doing one tag before in my blog. But, since Caroline has been so nice to me, I’m going to give her face and dedicate this tag to her. *LOL* She recently tagged me with this award “The Versatile Blogger“.

The Versatile Blogger award

Apparently the rules of the tag are

1. List 7 random things about yourself

2. Share the award with up to 15 other bloggers

3. Link to each of the recipients and let them know they’ve been tagged via comments on their blogs

4. Thank and bring the love back to the person you won the award from by linking back to them

So, here goes my 7 random things:

1. I love my husband.

2. When I see a toilet bowl covered in public toilets, I would not open the cover and would move on to another toilet instead. You don’t know what you’d discover beneath eh?

3. I haven’t gone to the gym for the past month! My gym membership is wasted.

4. I love my grandmother’s cooking. I used to complain being bored eating home cooked food every day but now I miss her cooking when I’m out working!

5. My blogger friends call me Maggie Cheung or Cheung Man Yuk because they think I look like her. And a few friends told me I look like Taylor Swift. Even Saucer.

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2010/07/03/the-versatile-witch/feed/342069Sex and the City 2 – Movie premierhttp://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/16/sex-and-the-city-2-movie-premier/
http://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/16/sex-and-the-city-2-movie-premier/#commentsWed, 16 Jun 2010 02:00:01 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=1947Remember the SKYY Vodka event that I attended in conjunction with the movie Sex and the City 2 movie? Well, the bunch of us who went were lucky enough to be given movie premier tickets to watch the show yesterday, before its official release on the 17th of June 2010. Being a fan of SATC,...

]]>Remember the SKYY Vodka event that I attended in conjunction with the movie Sex and the City 2 movie? Well, the bunch of us who went were lucky enough to be given movie premier tickets to watch the show yesterday, before its official release on the 17th of June 2010. Being a fan of SATC, I was really looking forward to the movie! Taking place at GSC Pavilion, Saucer and I reached just before 7pm (which was the time stated on the ticket), only to find out that the movie would be starting at 9pm instead! 7pm was the pre-cocktail session, courtesy of no other than SKYY Vodka.

The backdrop

Since we were early, there were only a few others there and we had the whole place to ourselves! *LOL*

Pre-cocktail

SKYY Vodka

Look at the number of cocktail glasses getting ready to be served!

Cocktail glasses

The limited edition Sex and the City 2 SKYY Vodka bottle

And the best part of all? Someone was going to walk away with a free trip to New York! *jealous* I wasn’t aware of the lucky draw and didn’t put my name card in for the draw. So definitely, no luck for me.

A trip to New York!

Anyway, that aside, let’s talk about the movie. For this sequel, it was shot mainly in Abu Dhabi (or so it claimed) – the new Middle East. But, did you know that the movie was actually shot in Moroco instead? Apparently, Abu Dhabi refused a request for the movie to be filmed there – fearing the association of the word ‘sex’ with their city. Therefore, they shot the film in Morocco instead and claimed that it’s at Abu Dhabi. Read it from the source here.

In the movie, 2 years after the 1st, the 4 girls are still the best of friends, or soul mates, with Miranda having a tough time balancing her work and love life, Charlotte getting crazy with her 2 little girls, Samantha battling the signs of aging and Carrie striving to avoid being the ‘Mr and Mrs Married’ with Mr Big, who just stays at home every night eating takeouts. She also accidentally met into one of her old flames in the streets of Abu Dhabi. Guess who?

Even though the reviews were quite harsh on SATC2 movie, I did enjoy the light moments with the girls and the witty jokes, especially from Samantha. The movie also portrayed the conservative culture of the Middle Eastern men and women and how Samantha couldn’t fit in.

At the end of the day, I’d say the movie is a nice watch for a good laugh. Watch out for cameo by Penelope Cruz and Miley Cyrus too!

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/16/sex-and-the-city-2-movie-premier/feed/161947Beautiful Sights at the Melaka Riverhttp://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/15/beautiful-sights-at-the-melaka-river/
http://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/15/beautiful-sights-at-the-melaka-river/#commentsTue, 15 Jun 2010 02:57:05 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/?p=1939This post is going to be all about pictures! Saucer and I were at Melaka last weekend to visit a new restaurant at the riverside and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the beautiful sights at the Melaka river, especially when night fell. We reached there just when the sun set and dusk...

]]>This post is going to be all about pictures! Saucer and I were at Melaka last weekend to visit a new restaurant at the riverside and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the beautiful sights at the Melaka river, especially when night fell. We reached there just when the sun set and dusk befell us.

Melaka River during dusk

The river and the ancient houses definitely reminded me of my trip to Hangzhou and Suzhou early this year. Those beautiful ancient villages with a river in between them.

Ancient houses by the Melaka river

Took this from the bridge across the river

witch at Melaka River

Of course, with a river so pretty, it’s not surprising that the River cruise is a popular activity here. With boats passing by ever few minutes or so, FULL of people!

Melaka River Cruise

While exploring along the riverside, Saucer took some portrait photographs.

Portrait photograph by Saucer

Pathway to the restaurant (are you excited to know which restaurant we’re heading to? )

The calm and peaceful river at night

Lovebirds by the river – love this shot

Apart from the river cruise, there was also a cruise dinner on board! Check out this boat! It was complete with chefs AND saxophone music in the background. Really romantic!

Dinner cruise

More pictures of the river at night. It was a night with breezy cold air, perfect for that romantic walk along the river.

Melaka River #1

Melaka River #2

I used to think Melaka is all about historical places but this river and its views are awesome. Maybe the next time I visit, I’d go for the dinner cruise.

]]>http://iamthewitch.com/2010/06/15/beautiful-sights-at-the-melaka-river/feed/471939What is unconditional love?http://iamthewitch.com/2009/04/27/what-is-unconditional-love/
http://iamthewitch.com/2009/04/27/what-is-unconditional-love/#commentsMon, 27 Apr 2009 09:29:00 +0000http://www.iamthewitch.com/2009/04/27/what-is-unconditional-love/I believe everyone has heard of this phrase ‘unconditional love’ before. But does everyone truly appreciate and understand what it means? When you think about it, this phrase indeed bears a deeper meaning that it appears to be. Many people think that they are giving their partners unconditional love, especially when they are in love....

]]>I believe everyone has heard of this phrase ‘unconditional love’ before. But does everyone truly appreciate and understand what it means? When you think about it, this phrase indeed bears a deeper meaning that it appears to be. Many people think that they are giving their partners unconditional love, especially when they are in love. or during the early stages of courtship But have you ever asked yourself, would you still be with the same partner if he/she

has an incurable disease?

lost all his money and is surrounded by debts?

wants to relocate permanently to another location which is far far away from your own family?

meets with an accident and becomes permanently paralysed/handicapped/etc so much so that constant care is required from you?

does not have the capability to breed?

Now for those who are married, perhaps they might think there’s no choice but to stick with the same partner and try to make the best out of it. But for those who are just in a relationship, what if one day you discover your partner to have one of those things listed above? Do you think it will change the way you love your partner? I’m not saying that I’m being cynical but really, when you think rationally, don’t you think most people would flee if given a choice?